Happy New Year
by LongLost10
Summary: Ten says goodbye to Rose for the last time.


**Prompted with the word "heartache" and unbeta'd. Written late at night so please excuse inaccuracies if they are any.**  
><strong>Writing based off the two scenes mentioned [Journey's End and Doomsday] <strong>

The Doctor stood against a wall in an alleyway in London, watching the snow fall on the pavement and waiting for a pair of voices that came a few moments later. "Late now… I've missed it- midnight. Mickey's going to be calling me and everything… it's your fault!"

Rose's voice rang in his ears as he hung his head and heard both Rose and Jackie Tyler talking about their respective boyfriends. So Rose and Mickey were still together. That didn't really tell him what year he landed in- Rose never told him how long he and Mickey were going out before his Ninth version of himself entered their lives.

"Don't be like that. There could be someone out there."

"Maybe."

The Doctor smiled a little as he thought about the Rose Tyler who was forever barred from this world. There she lived with her mother, father and baby brother Tony. Sure, her father was native of that alternate universe so, in theory Tony Tyler was a half sibling. But family was family and it was the most complete family she had ever had.

He had taken her to meet the original Pete Tyler back before his regeneration. From what he remembered, and he remembered things quite well, the Earth-born Pete Tyler was a bit too irresponsible. Part of him was glad that Rose grew up with a stronger Jackie Tyler than a mediocre one but with a father as well.

Except… that was an awfully cruel thing to say about the girl he traveled the universe with.

He just liked how Rose was raised, and couldn't imagine her being the same person if Pete had been around. But the Pete Tyler from Pete's World, as it was now named, was a bit more headstrong, a bit more successful and an all around better person, in the Doctor's opinion.

Between Jackie, Pete, Tony and his human counterpart, he thought that Rose would be happy. The last time he saw her, she was happy. Or well, looked like she could be.

She had flung herself towards his human counterpart, who had finished the sentence that did not need saying. Rose had been so close to tears by the whispered sentence in her ear while he stood watching them, holding back his own.

Then he had turned and walked away with Donna, that brilliant Donna Nobel, never to look back on the pair of them again. The TARDIS left and they had gone on their way.

Rose was better off now, with the human version of him. They would grow old together, exactly as she wanted.

Then the girl herself walked into his line of vision, Jackie Tyler off somewhere, and towards her apartment. Suddenly, the pain of everything- the radiation, the pain of losing Rose, Martha, Donna and Sarah, the events of the very long day, came back to him causing him to groan and hold onto the wall.

He closed his eyes as her voice echoed in his ears, his throat threatening to close because he didn't want to accept that she was speaking to him. "You alright, mate?" Her voice was soft as always, with more than a bit of a concerning tone mixed in.

The Doctor opened his eyes and looked up at Rose Tyler in all her beautiful glory. She wasn't exactly dressed her best but she still looked amazing. She matched her purple jacket with a purple beanie as her blonde hair fell well past her shoulders. Not to mention the scarf she wore matched the whole outfit. Even with her arms crossed and shivering slightly, she looked amazing with the snow falling around him.

"Yeah." He said with a bit of a grimace on his face. It had been the first time in a while he looked at her with that look of pain and distortion etched so deeply in his features. He couldn't bear to let go of the wall lest he just fall into the snow accumulating around him.

There was a smiling playing on her lips as she spoke. "Too much to drink?" There was that tone in her voice, the one he missed so deeply. Jocular, with a bit of serious thrown into the mix, although nothing as intense as he had heard from her before.

The smile that was left on her face was one of worry and humor. As if she knew she was supposed to care deeply for him. Just like he cared oh so deeply about her.

That little bit of confidence, that he was around someone he trusted (even if she didn't know it) motivated him to let go of the wall and face her properly. "Something like that." He couldn't bare a smile towards her yet. All he could manage was his signature knowing smirk.

"Maybe it's time you went home."

Even aggravated at Mickey, worrying about her mum and everything else in her head, she was still caring and giving to the core. She cared for him even though he was just some drunk on the street to her. "Yeah." His voice was almost empty as he stared at her, taking her in.

Why didn't he try harder to let her stay with him?

"Anyway," She was grinning again. A giant grin with eyes full of innocence and beauty and everything he loved about her. This was Rose at her core. "Happy New Year."

Their eyes locked for a moment as his cold eyes stared into her warm, welcoming ones and he responded. "And you."

With another small grin, she turned around and started towards her flat, away from the cold and back into the normal swing of her boring life. When did she leave this life style into one that she adored so much that she traveled through space and time itself, through multiple dimensions, just to find him. Just to have one last adventure.

"What year is this?" He called out to her.

There was no misstep as she spun around and looked at him, astounded at the question. "Blimey, how much have you had?" She said with a laugh, her eyes full of happiness again. She had lost that happiness momentarily as she turned to go back inside.

She was clearly waiting for a response so he merely shrugged a little. "2005." She was starting to laugh again but all that could be worn on his face was a pained expression at the radiation that was currently eating away at him. "January the first."

Her own expression had gotten a fair bit more serious as she explained the date, maybe a bit pointedly. He understood why, after all. She was explaining the day to a guy who had too much to drink down at the pub. Even if the Doctor looked up and sober, she wasn't going to take any chances.

The date slowly processed through his head. "2005." She shivered and nodded, trying to bundle up even further into her small frame. In an instant, his adventures with Rose in his last body flashed through his mind's eye. Meeting Rose for the first time, watching the end of the world with her, the Slitheen invasion, meeting Pete Tyler before he died and who could forget those zombies with gas masks? Even the regeneration that made him take this form came to him.

"Tell you what." Rose looked at him expectedly, her smile fading slightly but her eyes shining with curiosity. The Doctor looked upon his favorite companion fondly. "I bet you're going to have a really great year."

The look on Rose's face summed it all up for him. She was waiting for the day he saved her from the Austons, from the nine to five lifestyle she currently led. She wanted it to come true and he was happy to think that he was going to bring her so much relief from this life, even if it ended up bringing her more pain than she ever had to imagine.

"Yeah?" Her smile, taking over her face, was all he needed to give her a genuine smile of his own back towards her. He gave a small nod as she almost gave a hint of a laugh.

The Doctor watched as she thought about it for a moment, her smile leaving her face. It worried him for less than an instant that he was maybe not saving her from a boring lifestyle but throwing her into one that she just learned to love even more.

Those thoughts were quelled instantly as she turned back to him; giving him the widest, happiest grin he had ever seen her produce. "See ya." Her voice was so chipper, as he could have sworn she started to laugh as she turned and ran back into the building.

He was so proud of her, just watching her. He wanted to be with her so badly, that there was a brief thought of running after her and taking her away right there and then.

But he quickly ended those thoughts. He knew better. He was destined to be alone, and he knew this. However, just because he knew it didn't mean it made it easier to swallow.

She sent one last look back to him before climbing the stairs and out of sight. She wouldn't remember this instant; she wouldn't remember him given three days times, much less two years.

His hearts lurched in his chest as he watched her disappear. He didn't want to go, to leave her. Suddenly the pain intensified as he dropped back against the wall. No. He couldn't go.

The Doctor needed his Rose.


End file.
